Wisconsin officials say a foreign plant disease has been found at a Washington County nursery. The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says Cypress Mortality is a disease caused by the pathogen Phytophthora austrocedri, and affects common nursery plants like Juniper, Arborvitae, and False Cypress. The Washington County infection caused severe damage to a…… read more
Category Archives: Ag News
Interview: Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin launch “Born to Dairy” campaign
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the state’s dairy checkoff for promoting dairy products has launched a new promotion called Born to Dairy. Katrena Hoesley with the checkoff discusses the new marketing effort with Brownfield’s Larry Lee at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. The post Interview: Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin launch “Born to Dairy” campaign appeared…… read more
Dairy farmer impressed with 2025 harvest so far
A central Wisconsin farmer is pleased with the 2025 crops. T.J. Draeger operates a dairy farm near Marathon City, Wisconsin. Brownfield caught up with Draeger while he was chopping snaplage or earlage. “I’m in some really nice corn. A little dry. It got away on us a little bit but you know, we had a…… read more
Avian influenza affects another Wisconsin flock
Wisconsin has three new cases of avian influenza in the past three weeks. The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says the newest case is a backyard flock in Racine County involving eight birds confirmed October 9th. DATCP officials tell Brownfield the flock consisted of chickens, ducks, and a goose. Wisconsin has two other…… read more
New chronic wasting disease case confirmed at Portage County deer farm
A central Wisconsin deer farm has a newly confirmed case of chronic wasting disease. The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection does not name the farm, but says it is in Portage County where there are two licensed deer farms. The positive test came from a three-year-old buck. DATCP officials say the premises is…… read more
Wisconsin suspends poultry shows in four counties
Wisconsin agriculture officials have suspended poultry exhibitions in four counties because of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza cases. The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection suspended all poultry shows, exhibitions, swap meets, and movement of poultry to other events in Jefferson, Waukesha, Walworth, and Rock counties through December 31, 2025. The ban applies to…… read more
Wisconsin’s ag road improvement program open for new applications
Wisconsin’s Agricultural Road Improvement Program is now open for new grant applications. Farmer and State Representative Travis Tranel is one of the program’s original authors. He tells Brownfield the 150 million dollars in each of the last two state budget cycles is going to be extremely valuable for moving ag products on and off the…… read more
Silage harvest winding down in Wisconsin
Some Wisconsin farmers are done harvesting corn silage, and others aren’t far behind. Ben Augustine operates a dairy farm near Sheldon, and tells Brownfield he’s in the home stretch. “I’ve got 65 acres left and I think I’ve got about 800 done.” Augustine says some of his northern Wisconsin neighbors are combining soybeans and yields…… read more
Good yield helps Wisconsin farmer make up for bad prices
A Wisconsin farmer is grateful for this year’s nearly-perfect growing conditions and surprisingly good soybean yields. Steve Duwe farms near Johnson Creek, and tells Brownfield this has been an exceptional year for soybeans. “My longterm soybean average is usually is up to 55 (bushels per acre) or a little better over all of the past…… read more
West Bend, Wisconsin farmers’ market voted one of nation’s best
A Wisconsin farmers’ market is ranked tenth-best in the nation. The West Bend farmers’ market was recognized by the American Farmland Trust, which has held the contest for seventeen years. The top farmers’ markets get a share of $15,000 for use in marketing and promotion efforts, and the winners are determined by national public voting.…… read more